hammial



Feb. 14, 1956 LE ROY L. HAMMIAL ET AL 2,734,466

ROOFING MATERIALSUAND ROOF CONSTRUCTION Filed got. 17, 1950 Fl G. l\ 3FIG. 2

FHA. 21

l/vvs/vroles LEROY L. HAMMIAL VIRGIL C. BENOIT Eve-@04- T TOE NE YUnited States Patent QfiFice ROOFING MATERIALS AND ROOF CONSTRUCTION LeRoy L. Hammial and Virgil C. Benoit, Houston, Tex.

Application October 17, 1950, Serial No. 190,627

1 Claim. (Cl. 108-12) This invention relates to improvements in buildingconstruction and more particularly to roofing materials wherein some ofthe protective substance used is so incorporated therein, as to beprotected against wear and exposure to the elements that normally weakenand deteriorate such materials.

One of the principal objects of our invention is to so construct such aroofing material, that a layer of asphaltic substance is completelyenveloped within a sheath of pliant and relatively thin moisture-proofand air-impervious thin metal, to thereby retain said asphalticsubstance in its substantially original condition insofar as itseffective roofing characteristics are concerned.

An added object of this invention is to so construct a roofing member ofthe kind described, wherein the sheathed layer of asphaltic material isformed as a core and is protected against exposure to weather, wear andaccidental damage, by enclosing said core within a protective coating orlayer of a much stronger construction that is better adapted to suchexposure, and to have the bounding edges of said outer coating projectlaterally beyond the corresponding marginal edges of said core andentirely conceal the latter thereby.

A further object of our invention is to so construct a roofing member ofthe kind described and wherein there is a sheathed core of moistasphaltic minerial, and a protective coating or cover to envelope thelatter and to project laterally therebeyond so that nails or otherfastening elements may be driven through the coating into the roof, toaffix the roofing member without damage to its core.

Another object of this invention is to so construct a roof from saidmembers in such a manner that joinder members will be associatedtherewith, so that the fastening elements may be forced through anunexposed portion of said joinder members and the roof members tothereby conceal said fastening elements from exposure to the weather.

A still further object of our invention is to so construct such ajoinder member, that it too, will have a sheathed core entirely Withinits confines, made in substantially the same manner as the corespreviously mentioned and for a similar purpose generally.

Yet another object of our invention is to provide a roof constructionfrom the roofing members and joinder members described, so that a pairof the former may be laid on the roof with their adjacent side edgesapart slightly to provide a slot therebetween, and with the joindermember of such cross-sectional shape as to have upper and lower flangesextending to either side to straddle the adjacent marginal edges of theroofing members, and with a web portion that fits within andsubstantially fills the said slot.

Other objects of our invention are to construct roofing members and aroof of the kind described, that will be Patented Feb. 14, 1956insulating power, and which will be otherwise satisfactory and eflicientfor use wherever deemed applicable.

Many other objects and advantages of the construction herein shown anddescribed will be obvious to those skilled in the art to which thisinvention appertains, from the disclosures herein given.

To this end, our invention consists in the novel arrangement,construction and combination of parts herein shown and described, and aswill be more clearly pointed out in the following specification.

In the drawings, wherein like reference characters represent like orcorresponding parts throughout the views,

Figure l is a vertical cross-section view of the invention, applied to aroof;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the metal-sheathed core used as a partof the roofing members; and

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional detail of said core, taken substantiallyalong the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, wherein we have illustrateda preferred embodiment of the invention, there is shown a roofing forcovering substantially any sort of a roof, although the latter as shownhas the customary wood top boards A.

In the usual manner of applying roofing, it has been customary to applyasphaltic-composition fibrous substances in rolls, sheets or shingles tosuch roofs, because such material is especially well adapted as roofing,for many reasons needless to explain herein.

However, such roofing is open to the objection that When it is inservice and exposed to the weather, there is too rapid a deteriorationof such roofing, so that replacements are all to frequent.

For that reason, we have designed an entirely different construction ofroofing, in which all of the beneficial effects of the asphalt thereinare retained intact throughout an unusually long life, and in addition,the insulating quality of the roofing is improved.

To that end, we have provided that a core containing an asphalticsubstance in a preferably moist condition be embedded within theconfines of the roofing, so as to be concealed from exposure to theweather, and wherein there will be little or no deteriorating of thesame for an unusually long period of years.

Such a core is shown most clearly in Figs. 2 and 3, and consists of apair of air and moisture-impervious sheets 1-1 arranged in spaced apartopposed relationship, but with the marginal edges of the same broughttogether and sealed along their entire marginal bounding edges 2, toform the relatively shallow pocket 3 between the major portions of thesheets, to form an envelope or sheath shown.

We have found that a pliant and relatively thin, inexpensive andlong-lasting metal, such as of aluminum or copper foil may be used forthe purpose, although it is apparent that other material might besubstituted therefor, as found suitable. This metal sheathing can bequite thin, even of approximately .002" thickness, although heavierguages might be used where such extra expense is justified by someunusual conditions that should be taken intoconsideration in theconstruction.

Any suitable manner of sealing the bounding marginal edges of saidsheets 1-1 together may be used, as by folding, crimping, fusing,cementing, or the like, the only requirement being that there results agood and continuous joint to hermetically seal the contents againstdanger of leakage or accidental breakage therepast.

The pocket thus formed is filled with any suitable roofing compound, asfor example an asphaltic substance, in a preferably moist condition, andif desired it may even be a relatively pure asphalt that is flowable,inasmuch as the same has been found by test to be ideally suited for thepurpose. As will be seen, this substance will not be exposed to theweather and will therefore retain its wellknown protectivecharacteristics for many years, unless of course, the sheathing isaccidentally ruptured. Of course, if it is desired to increase thenon-drying characteristics of the said substance, one or more of anywellknown plasticizing or softener agents may be added, as for instancea specially processed linseed oil, soy bean oil, etc., or with acompatible polyethylene glycol or the like.

Obviously, the core element thus described is relatively pliant, weakand easily damaged if unprotected, so that a protective coating orcovering must be applied to encase the same, as will now be set forth.

An asphalt-saturated felt or fibrous material 4 that is sufficientlythick and sturdy to withstand the usual weather conditions, entirelyencases the metal-sheathed core element, there by giving an over-allrequisite rigidity to the roofing member thus constructed, said coatingor cover 4 being cemented or affixed in any preferred manner to theentire surface of said core.

It is to be particularly noted that the marginal edges of the covering 4projects laterally beyond all of the marginal edges of the core, so asto thereby permit ready handling of the roofing as a unit without damageto the relatively fragile core therewithin, and at the same time thusproviding a marginal area through which fastening nails 5 may be driveninto the body of the roof A, all without puncturing the sealed core.

This composite roofing member, consisting of the inner core of the metalenvelope hermetically sealed with the asphaltic substance therein, andouter cover, may be made in sheets, rolls or shingles, and in someinstances may be made to be substantially the full size of the roofwhich is intended to be covered, and in which latter case, there will beno joints on the exposed surface of the roofing.

The roofing member B thus formed may, if desired have its exteriorsurfaces coated with crushed rock or the like adherent thereto, or thesame may be treated with a coating of rock dust for the usual well-knownreason.

Where the roofing members B are made in sizes smaller than that of theroofs to which they are to be applied, the edges of adjoining roofingmembers may overlap, or as shown a separate juncture member C may beused so as to minimize any danger of moisture leakage past said joints.

In Fig. 1, there is shown a roof structure wherein the adjacent roofingmembers B-B are laid with their opposed marginal edges opposed andspaced apart a slight distance to provide an elongated slot 6therebetween.

The joinder member C is especially constructed to cooperate with theadjacent pair of members B-B to close said slot therebetween, and isprovided with a thin-metal sheathed core in substantially the same wayand for the same purpose as the cores of the members B-B. However, thismember C and the core therein is of a special shape, as will now bedescribed.

This joinder member C is preferably l-shaped in transversecross-section, with the approximately parallel top and bottom flanges 7and 8 spaced apart a distance equal to the thickness of the adjacentmarginal portions of said members B-B, as shown.

In the joinder member too, there is a cover layer 9, of preferably anasphalt-impregnated fibrous material similar to the coatings 4, so as tobe much stronger and self-supporting than the core within said joindermember, said cover projecting laterally beyond the correspondingmarginal edges of said core so that the latter is completely embeddedtherewithin and concealed thereby.

In order to provide areas for directing the fastening nails through themember C, the latter may be so designed that it is wider across its topthan across its bottom, and therefore the nails may be forced throughthe adjacent opposed areas of the members B-B and through the bottomflange 8 of said joinder member C, and the top flange 7 thensuperimposed on the top surface of said adjacent portions of the membersBB by bending said top flange down and preferably cementing thereto tocover and conceal said nails. The nails therefore firmly secure theroofing members in place, but do not pierce the relatively fragile coreportions of said members.

It has been found from test, that the roof thus constructed hasexcellent heat-insulating properties, and will retain the same for aperiod much longer than is customary with the usual type ofasphalt-saturated roofings, as in our construction the asphalt iscompletely sealed in place, away from exposure to the weather, and doesnot become readily deteriorated by the latter.

When the exposed portions of the roofing does become worn, a freshcoating may be applied, simply by an application of fibrous asphaltedroofing cemented to the portions of the roofing that is left, preferablywith a cold cement in order not to impair the seal of the cores in theold material,

Having thus described our invention, it is obvious that variousimmaterial modifications may be made in the same without departing fromthe spirit of our invention; hence we do not wish to be understood aslimiting ourselves to the exact form, arrangement, construction andcombination of parts herein shown and described, except as limited bythe state of the art to which this invention appertains, and the claimhereunto appended.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

For use on a roof structure, a pair of roofing members each having alayer of substantially constantly moist asphaltic substance hermeticallysealed a predetermined distance within the marginal bounding edges ofthe same, and said members laid with their opposed marginal portionsspaced apart to provide a longitudinally extending slot therebetween,and an I-shaped tiller member having a layer of substantially constantlymoist asphaltic substance hermetically sealed a predetermined distancewithin the marginal edges of the same, said filler member positionedbetween said pair of members with its web portion filling said slot andwith its flanges straddling the top and bottom faces of each of theopposed portions of said pair of members, whereby fastening means may bedriven through superimposed portions of said filler and roofing membersinto the roof and sufficiently beyond said hermetically sealedsubstances without piercing the latter.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS314,054 Peasc ct al. Mar. 17, 1885 314,857 Leonard Mar. 31, 1885 646,495lager Apr. 3, 1900 747,120 Beaumont Dec. 15, 1903 1,094,893 Grant Apr.28, 1914 1,195,408 Smith Aug. 22, 1916 1,298,541 Miller Mar. 25, 19191,340,949 Goodrich May 25, 1920 1,636,388 Robinson July 19, 19271,812,732 Young June 3, 1931 1,993,792 Manske et al. Mar. 12, 1935FOREIGN PATENTS 396,471 France Jan. 27, 1909

